Manila: Filipino boxer and Congressman Manny Pacquiao sided with the influential Catholic Church and vowed to fight a Bill that would promote the use of subsidised artificial family planning methods among poor Filipinos.
"We should follow not the rule of man, but God's rule," Pacquiao said at a press conference following a visit to the office of the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and lunch with the bishops.
"I am calling on my fans. We should be united in fighting the [controversial] Reproductive Health (RH) Bill," Pacquiao said.
"God ordered people to go and multiply," said Pacquiao, adding, "He did not say, ‘Go into the world and have one child or two."
Asked if he was against President Benigno Aquino who has been criticised by the church for supporting the Bill, Pacquiao said, "He [Aquino] is my boss [being the president], but God is my first boss."
"Poor people don't need the RH Bill. We need to be united in fighting corruption in order to fight poverty," Pacquiao said.
He and his two siblings were raised by their mother Dionisia, after their father abandoned the family. Pacquaio has four children with his wife Jinkee.
CBCP president Bishop Nereo Odchimar prayed with Pacquiao before the Congressman went to the House of Representatives for a debate on the Bill.
The church plans to enlist Pacquiao's help in an intensified fight against the Bill, sources said.
Representing the pro-life group in the debate, Pacquiao wore a red barong Tagalog, a formal Philippine attire.
Call to bishops
Congressman Edcel Lagman, author of the Bill, wore a purple barong Tagalog, to represent women's rights.
Meanwhile, President Aquino's spokesman Edwin Lacierda called on bishops not to call pro-RH Bill advocates derogatory names such as "modern day Herods" and "mass murderers".
Earlier, Aquino said he would push for the passage of the Bill even if the Catholic Church would ex-communicate him. Last month, Aquino and the bishops ended month-long talks on the issue.
